Everything I've Ever Loved About You

2013

I collected the driftwood and amber (my first find on our once-rich Norfolk shores) after a particularly strong tide early in the year: a powerful spring tide, also a storm tide and a full-moon tide. Never had I seen such pickings on my favourite beach at West Runton.

The piece of driftwood, drying in my kitchen for weeks, soon became a familiar object. And yet, every day, I would look through its natural holes and find a new point of view. Every day I would find that a new grain of sand had been released by the closing fabric of the wood. Every day, I would discover another nuance in its seemingly homogeneous colouration. Every day, this tiny object revealed new facets and new emotions to the eye, hand and soul willing to spend time watching, feeling and listening.

It takes time to explore. It takes time to feel the inner rhythm of what we think is familiar.